COVID-19: Stroke Admissions, Emergency Department Visits, and Prevention Clinic Referrals
María Bres Bullrich, Sebastián Fridman, Jennifer Mandzia, Lauren M. Mai, Alexander V. Khaw, Juan‐Camilo Vargas‐González, Rodrigo Bagur, Luciano A. Sposato
Abstract
We assessed the impact of the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic on code stroke activations in the emergency department, stroke unit admissions, and referrals to the stroke prevention clinic at London's regional stroke center, serving a population of 1.8 million in Ontario, Canada. We found a 20% drop in the number of code strokes in 2020 compared to 2019, immediately after the first cases of COVID-19 were officially confirmed. There were no changes in the number of stroke admissions and there was a 22% decrease in the number of clinic referrals, only after the provincial lockdown. Our findings suggest that the decrease in code strokes was mainly driven by patient-related factors such as fear to be exposed to the SARS-CoV-2, while the reduction in clinic referrals was largely explained by hospital policies and the Government lockdown.